- Merkel Tested by Dissent on Greek Bailout in Her Party. Chancellor Angela Merkel faces increased dissent within her governing coalition over extending Greece’s bailout as part of her goal of keeping the euro area intact. While senior lawmakers say almost all of Merkel’s Christian Democratic bloc will back the four-month reprieve for Greece in a lower-house vote on Friday, 22 of the 311 caucus members opposed the measure in a straw poll Thursday, nine more than voted against passage of Greece’s second bailout in 2012.
- Merkel’s Truths Lead Greece to Unavoidable Deal on Euro Bailout. (video) It took a few simple truths from Germany’s Angela Merkel on the basics of euro-area crisis management to pacify the combative new government in Athens. The chancellor explained to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras what an aide in her office called reality. There wasn’t much time to reach the deal needed to keep Greece afloat and Germany wasn’t going to budge, Merkel told him in a 50-minute phone conversation on Feb. 19. It was their first substantive exchange since he’d won election Jan. 25.
- Ukraine Says Truce Takes Hold as Army Begins Weapons Pullback. Ukraine signaled the latest attempt at peace in its easternmost regions is taking hold and said the military would start withdrawing heavy weapons from the front lines. There were no cease-fire breaches after 12:45 a.m. local time, the military said Thursday, before announcing the arms removal. While Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the U.S. and Europe of seeking to derail dialogue, he said the peace deal was showing tangible results and there are no “ideal truces.” The rebels said some fighting continues.
- European Stocks Extend 2007 High as Bayer, GDF Gain on Earnings. European stocks climbed to the highest level since July 2007 as Bayer AG and GDF Suez SA rose after reporting earnings. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 1 percent to 390.69 at the close of trading, the biggest gain in more than a month.
- Major Firms Are Saying the Stage Is Set For Another Crisis In The Bond Market. The stage is set for another financial crisis to unravel years of relative calm in debt markets. At least that’s how firms from UBS Group AG to Invesco Ltd. see it. Here’s why: Prices in the world’s biggest bond market are swinging and the plunge in oil is sinking the economies of nations from Venezuela to Nigeria. To top all that off, the fundamental structure of the bond market has changed in a way that makes it difficult for regulators to gauge exactly where risks are building. As stresses grow, “we believe the probability of an ‘accident’ increases,” Invesco analysts including Rob Waldner wrote in the $786.5 billion manager’s February fixed-income outlook. “The overall environment for risky assets, and particularly for credit, is deteriorating.”
- Consumer Comfort Falls to 2015 Low as View of U.S. Economy Dims. Consumer sentiment retreated last week to the lowest level of the year as Americans’ views of the economy and their finances dimmed. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to 42.7 in the period ended Feb. 22 from 44.6 a week earlier. The 1.9-point decline was the biggest since May 2014. A gauge of the current state of the economy slumped by the most in almost four years. Confidence has deteriorated in three of the last four weeks as gasoline prices started climbing from the lowest level since 2009. Sentiment is also being restrained by what Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen this week called “sluggish” wage growth, even as the labor market continues to improve.
- FCC Votes In Favor Of Obama's Net Neutrality - Has The Slippery Slope To Web Censorship Begun?
- "Faith In Fed Abilities" Are Too Firmly Embedded In The Investor Class.
- Amid Probe, NY Governor Cuomo Orders Mass Deletion Of Government Emails.
- Greece Suffers Biggest Bank Run In History: January Deposits Plunge To 2005 Levels. (graph)
- Capital Goods Shipments Tumble, 6th Miss In A Row. (graph)
- US Posts First Negative Inflation Print Since Lehman On Gas Price Plunge. (graph)
- Initial Jobless Claims Surge Most Since 2013. (graph)
Telegraph:
- Opec veteran warns cartel emergency meeting won't stop rout in prices. Qatar's former finance minister says the traditional oil producing countries will struggle to halt the fall in prices.
- Germans say 'Nein!' to Greek bail-out deal. “No more billions for greedy Greeks,” Germany’s biggest-selling mass-market newspaper has said.
- Greek Bailout May Be Bigger Than Expected, Says EU's Oettinger. Greece's 2015 budget to be burdened by election and following insecurity, EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger says in interview. Greece must not abandon reforms and shift focus to fighting tax evasion and corruption as fiscal effects unclear. France needs to present proposals by May to reduce budget deficit to prevent tougher stance by EU including possible sanctions, Oettinger says.
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